Debate Quick Review
We encourage the speakers to ask the judge for a judging paradigm or philosophy. We try to teach them to adapt to you, the judge. We hope you will be comfortable helping the students understand how to win a ballot from you.
Guidelines:
"Delivery" - What kind of delivery do you appreciate?
How fast is too fast?
Do you allow "tag team" cross-examinations (where either speaker can ask or answer a question) or would you prefer only the speaker being asked the questions answer.
Will you allow oral time signals, or would you rather the speakers look at you?
Criteria for decision: On what basis would you decide a round?
- Please do not tell students that you hate a particular issue or area of the debate: i.e. "I hate topicality arguments and will not allow them in the round." (That may be the only evidence a novice or junior team has to present in the round.)
- Please let the students debate the topic. Put aside your own bias, or opinion and evaluate what the students present.
Experience:
How much experience have you had with debate?
How much experience have you had judging debate?
How much experience have you had with this topic?
You may wish to ask the speakers how much experience they have.
Be sure to keep your comments general. The purpose is to promote communication in the round. It is the speaker's job to communicate with you. They are to take into consideration your philosophy and make you comfortable in the round.
Because this is a learning activity, please NO ORAL CRITIQUES. Some beginning speakers may require a little encouragement, prompting, or reminders of when they speak.
BALLOTS
Pick up and return ballots to the Judges and Coaches Lounge. Be sure to get speakers first and last names. We need them for individual speaker awards.
If you want extra time to write a ballot, please give the decision of who won and who lost to the judges director. We need the decisions as quickly as possible, since students will be matching the next round based on the results of this round.
Necessities
We will provide lunch. We will pay judges as they leave. See the judging director.
If you need paper to flow, the judging director will have a supply.
Requests
- Please help us keep the tournament on time by filling out the decision part of the ballot quickly. If you need more time to write comments, return with your ballot to the library, give us the decision, then fill out the ballot.
- Please discourage discourteous behavior in Public Debate. Hissing, booing, banging on the table are distracting to both audience and judges. Suggest instead that patting the table to show agreement is an alternative to distracting behavior.
- Please have students return the room to its original condition whenever they move furniture.
Value Debate - Lincoln/Douglas Format
Resolved:
Value Debate is a contest in argumentation. The format is styled to promote communication.
Evidence is generally philosophical in nature.
Delivery should be persuasive, smooth, clear, and organized.
Affirmative
Presents a Criteria by which the values in the round can be tested and weighed.
Presents a Justification for accepting the resolution. These justifications can be on moral, political, artistic, utilitarian, etc., values .
Does not present a policy or a plan.
Presents a value position upon which future policies could be based.
May present an example to clarify
The Negative may offer
Counter values
test the criteria
Offer a different criteria
Point out how the affirmative has failed to prove the values, or cannot prove the value
The speaker's job is to persuade the judge that the speaker's position is best.
There should be direct clash or disagreement about the issues.
Winners persuade you the most effectively.
Speaking order and length: Please give time signals.
MinutesSpeaker
6Affirmative Constructive
3Negative questions Affirmative
7Negative Constructive
3Affirmative questions Negative
4Affirmative Rebuttal
6Negative Rebuttal
3Affirmative Rebuttal
Each side has 2 minutes of preparation time to use at the speaker's discretion.
No oral critiques.
Please do not reveal your decision.
POLICY DEBATE (2 person team)
Topic: Resolved:
Basically, the better team wins the major issues, has clear organization and effective speaking style.
Novice Case areas:
The Affirmative should prose a well organized change in the present system, and it should support all assertions with documentation.
The Negative team defends the present system and clashes directly with the arguments made by the affirmative.
To determine a winner consider the student argumentation concerning the following questions.
Topicality - Is the Affirmative case within reasonable bounds of the resolution?
Significance -Is the Affirmative case dealing with a significant problem?
Inherency - Is the Affirmative case making a significant change over the present system? Or is it the Status Quo?
Workability - Can the Affirmative's plan function?
Solvency - Can the Affirmative solve the problems they point out?
Disadvantages - Do the advantages presented by the Affirmative outweigh the disadvantages presented by the Negative?
Proof - Does the Affirmative team reasonably prove their points?
Clash - Does the Negative team clash with the Affirmative?
Let the teams do the debating. After they have finished determine:
Did the Affirmative probe to your satisfaction the validity of their position, provide sufficient evidence, and respond to the Negative argumentation effectively?
Did the Negative support their objections, support the Status Quo, or raise sufficient doubts about the Affirmative?
Recheck the characteristics on the ballot, decide who wins, fill out the speaker points, and give reasons for your decisions. Novices, as well as experienced speakers need lots of supportive comments, and want to know why they won or lost.
TIMELIMITS (Please give time signals)
Minutes Speaker
8 First Affirmative Constructive
3 Questioning by Second Negative Speaker
8 First Negative Constructive
3 Questioning by First Affirmative Speaker
8 Second Affirmative Construction
3 Questioning by First Negative Speaker
8 Second Negative Constructive
3 Questioning by second Affirmative Speaker
5 First Negative Rebuttal
5 First Affirmative Rebuttal
5 Second Negative Rebuttal
5 second Negative Rebuttal
There are 5 minutes of preparation time in Cross-Examination Debate
No Oral Critiques – In order for the tournament to run on time please turn in your ballot ASAP
Please do not reveal your decisions.
Rules and guidelines for Public debate (borrowed from the Jerry Hudson Forensic Tournament Willamette University 1997)
1. Resolutions – Some resolutions carry bias – remember the teams must debate the issue given, regardless of their own beliefs –Judges need to be sure to not be swayed by any personal bias.
A. A different resolution for each round will be announced to an assembly of debaters twenty minutes prior to the beginning of each debate. Three Topics will be selected. The proponants may strike one, the opponants strike one, and the remaining topic is debated.
B. The topic of each round will be focused upon police, courts, sentencing, or prisons. They are general enough that a well-educated student can debate them. They may be phrased in literal or metaphorical language.
2. Object of the debate
The proponant team must affirm, and the opposition must oppose, the resolution. The proponant must make and defend a sufficient case for the resolution. If, at the end of the debate, the judge believes that the proponant has made and successfully defended the resolution, they will be declared the winner; otherwise the opposition will be declared the winner.
3. Before the debate
Teams are allowed to consult with published material or with a dictionary if they wish, but they are advised not to spend more than three to five minutes doing so in order that the bulk of their time can be spent organizing and preparing their speeches.
4. During the debate
A. Except for notes made during preparation time, no prepared materials or resources for the debater's use in the round may be brought into the debating chambers.
B. Debaters may refer to any information which is within the realm of knowledge of liberally educated and informed citizens. If they believe some cited information to be too specific, debaters may, in a point of information, request that their opponent explain specific information with which they are unfamiliar. Begin the debate by requesting that the Leader of the Proposition begin.
C. Format of the debate
First Proposition Constructive7 minutes
First Opposition Constructive8 minutes
Second Proposition Constructive8 minutes
Second Opposition Constructive 8 minutes
First Opposition Rebuttal4 minutes
First Proposition Rebuttal5 minutes
D. Constructive and Rebuttal Speeches
Introduction of new arguments is appropriate during all constructive speeches. However, debaters may not introduce new arguments in rebuttal speeches except that the First Proposition may introduce new arguments in his or her rebuttal to refute arguments that were first raised in the Second Opposition Constructive. New examples, analysis, analogies, etc. which support previously introduced arguments are permitted in rebuttal speeches.
E. Points of Information
A debater may request a point of information--either verbally or by rising--at any time after the first minute and before the last minute of any constructive speech. The debater holding the floor has the discretion to accept or refuse points of information. If accepted, the debater requesting the point of information has a maximum of fifteen seconds to make a statement or ask a question. The speaking time of the debater with the floor continues during the point of information
F. Points of Order
Points of order are not allowed in this tournament. Judges are responsible for enforcing the rules and guidelines and should do so by making comments on the ballots, by adjusting speaker points as necessary, or by considering rule violations in the decision.
5. After the debate
A. After the last rebuttal dismiss the teams, complete the ballot and return it to the tournament director. The judges should not give oral comments.
B. Debaters or coaches will refrain from requesting that judges reveal decisions.
- Bias in Topics: Some of the topics have biases built into them, either for the Proposition or Oppostion. Please be aware of your own bias on the resolutions, but evaluate how effectively the students debated the resolution. Someone has to support either side. It is not the debater’s choice which side they take
Public Forum Debate
Topic: .
Format:
Two speakers on each team. Teams flip for sides. The winner choses sides. Loser choses whether they speak first or second.
Time Limits
Team A Speaker 1 4 min
Team B Speaker 1 4 min
Crossfire (between A1 & B1) 3 min
Team A Speaker 2 4 min
Team B Speaker 2 4 min
Crossfire (between A2 & B2)3 min
A1 summary 2 min
B1 summary 2 min
Grand Crossfire (all speakers) 3 min
A2 Final Focus 2 min
B2 Final Focus 2 min
2 min prep time per team
33 minutes total time
Judging
Judges should come from the community. Librarians, teachers, business people, ordinary citizens who vote and sit on juries are the target audience. Service club members are a good source of judges. College debaters, ex-debaters and debate coaches who are not classroom teachers should not judge this event.
Instructions
- During the crossfire period, both speakers have the floor and may ask and answer questions during the 2-minute period. The Participants are instructed to keep questions and answers succinct; rudeness should not be tolerated.
- In the Grand Crossfire all four students have the floor. The first question of each crossfire must be posed by the team, which did not speak just prior to the crossfire period.
- The Final Focus gives the second speaker from each team one final opportunity to identify the most important arguments in the rouns. The speech must begin “Judge, this is why you should vote (pro or con).
- Speaking in this event must be clear, conversational and direct. A speaker may win all of the issues in a round but lose the Debate because of the indifference to communication.